Intermediary Asset Pricing and the Financial Crisis

Abstract

Intermediary asset pricing understands asset prices and risk premia through the lens of frictions in financial intermediation. Perhaps motivated by phenomena in the financial crisis, intermediary asset pricing has been one of the fastest-growing areas of research in finance. This article explains the theory behind intermediary asset pricing and, in particular, how it is different from other approaches to asset pricing. This article also covers selective empirical evidence in favor of intermediary asset pricing.